Request for Participation

Internet2 PKI Labs

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) has emerged as a critical technology for the development of advanced network security services, supporting a set of functions ranging from authentication to authorization, from encrypted email to non-repudiation. This is a request for proposals from campus units at Internet2 members to be designated as an Internet2 PKI Lab. These labs are intended to be focal points for research and development work, both on human interface issues and on the underlying technologies. It is anticipated that two sites will be selected. Internet2 will work to direct both research issues and resources to these labs. A major initial investment in equipment, a PKI testbed platform and staffing is being provided by AT&T, as indicated in the Internet2 press release of March 28, 2000.

The research agenda of the labs will receive input from a national advisory board of leaders in PKI development and deployment. The board includes academic, corporate and governmental experts who are actively working on many of the uncertain and difficult issues related to building a scalable and effective security infrastructure. Interactions will be via periodic meetings and on-going discussions. The intellectual capital provided by this advisory board is intended to compliment the financial resources offered under this relationship.

It should be noted that the research agenda being advanced by this initiative is a primarily real-world one (see the attached research agenda). It includes issues about interoperability and manageability, trust models, and scaling in technical and human dimensions of basic theoretic approaches. This focus reflects the interests of the Internet2 academic and corporate membership in developing and deploying a security infrastructure in support of advanced applications. Respondents to this RFP should share that interest and have worked effective partnerships with campus and corporate IT organizations.

The two sites selected will receive significant equipment and resources. The initial base of resources include servers and software from AT&T, graduate student support, travel funds, and some operational support. The software, a general purpose PKI platform that AT&T has developed for internal use, facilitates scalable operation with third-party Certificate Authority systems. It acts as a distributor driven by uniform enrollment procedures based on vendor-independent PKI policies. The resources amount to approximately $100,000 per year per site for two years. We do anticipate additional grants and resources being made available to the labs by corporate partners in support of this work.

The duration of these research relationships will depend on the extent of the need for development within higher education. It is anticipated that the minimum period will be three years. In addition, the financial resources being provided to the Labs at the start are not likely sufficient to set up new research facilities. Unless other funding sources exists, these funds may best be used to augment existing research programs and set new directions for current researchers.

Responses to this request are due June 30. The responses should be brief (3-5 pages), identifying the backgrounds and qualifications of the group, including current research directions. Responses and questions should be sent to pkilabrfp@internet2.edu. Additional materials can be found at the web site ????????

Thank you for your attention.